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Wednesday, 7 October 2015

‘DEMOCRACY TALKS’ DID NOT HAPPEN

The much anticipated
meeting between Swaziland’s autocratic King Mswati III and
representatives of the prodemocracy movement in his kingdom did not take place.

It was scheduled for 30 September 2015 and had been
brokered by the Commonwealth. A total of 15 representatives of civil society,
including some groups banned under the kingdom’s Suppression of Terrorist Act,
had been expected to attend.

Swaziland is a secretive society and existence of
the meeting was never officially confirmed. However, leaks about the meeting
and who was attending, and who had
been barred, circulated freely on social media.

The meeting attracted attention because King Mswati
rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, political
parties are banned from taking part in elections and groups advocating for
democracy are outlawed. Every major global human rights organisation has
criticised Swaziland for its poor human rights record. Public meetings are routinely
broken up by police and state security. Journalists critical of the regime have
been jailed.

The meeting called by some ‘talks about democracy’
failed to materialise after it became clear that some participants had drawn up
a list of demands for the King. These included the unbanning of political
parties and a commitment to democracy.

The Observer
Sunday, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati and described by the Media
Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) as belonging to a stable of newspapers that
was a ‘pure propaganda machine for the Royal Family’, reported Prince
Masitsela, a senior traditionalist in Swaziland, saying the Royal Family had ‘not
taken kindly’ to reports that civil society representatives at the meeting had
‘demands’ for the King.

The newspaper reported (4
October 2015), ‘This has been viewed as a sign of disrespect towards the King.’

It added, ‘Senior Prince Masitsela is one of the people who have come
out to state publicly that chances of the political formations meeting the King
were now slim.’

The Observer also reported,
‘The 85-year-old prince said he did not see the meeting taking place as it was
unheard of that Swazi citizens would openly say they have demands for the
King.’